Legacy of Darkness
by Christopher Allen McDade
Summary: Written by Chris McDade and RW Plus Me. Auror's and former Death Eaters collide, Muggleborn Ministry Officials are being attacked in broad daylight. What will the Potter/Weasley family do once Hermione is targeted by the group of dark Wizards?


**A/N: Story was written in cooperation with Elle Grasfield (RW Plus Me) Both authors hope you enjoy this story as much as we did writing this first installment.**

**PROLOGUE**

"Well," Ron Weasley said, sitting down in one of the vacant chairs outside of the café, "You never get used to it, do you?"

Hermione Weasley laughed as she sat down opposite him, shrugging off her jacket and shaking her long hair free. "No you don't," she agreed.

They'd just seen their two children off on the Hogwarts Express almost two hours ago, and after spending the entirety of the summer with them, the resulting calmness was always hard to adjust to. Rose would be starting her sixth term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and their youngest child Hugo would be starting his fifth.

Ron remembered his fifth year at Hogwarts, the endless string of OWL exams and the immense studying that he always waited to do until the last moment. He felt a pang of sorrow for his son as he had inherited his lack of enthusiasm towards education, that and the fact that his mother would make him study twice as hard once she got her hands on his OWLs.

The two of them sat there outside the cafe enjoying a cup of coffee before the two of them would head off to work in the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ron was one of the Senior members of the Auror Squad and Hermione was the newly appointed deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. So in a way Hermione was his boss, which didn't really bother him at all – she'd always been his boss in one way or another.

But he didn't like the fact that she held a position that had potential to make her a target for certain people who weren't fond of Muggle-borns. It was this topic that had spurred the argument that both of them had been having for the last month. Somewhere out in the wizarding world, someone was attacking Muggle-born witches and wizards and each attack began to increase in its boldness and violence.

The last few nights before their children had had to leave for school had filled with awkward silences and a tension that was almost palpable. Both of them had not wanted to bring the subject up, Hermione hadn't wanted to give Hugo something to think about other than his studies even though she knew he'd find something else to serve that purpose. He had his father's knack for finding ingenious ways to avoid studying.

Ron just stared straight ahead, rolling his empty coffee cup between his hands. She knew he was angry with her for taking the position of deputy head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, when he'd first told her of his feelings towards that matter she couldn't understand where they were coming from.

But now Hermione understood. "Do you think we're in danger?" she asked. "Harry, the children, our families? Are we in danger?"

Ron looked at her fiercely. "No one is going to hurt any of them, I'll make sure of it, Hermione." he promised.

Hermione beamed at him, and then stood up. "Come one," she said, pulling him up as well. "I'm not very hungry. Let's go home."

Ron followed; he wasn't feeling very hungry either, considering the topic of their conversation. It made his stomach and head flood with nerves.

They walked hand in hand down Diagon Alley, jostling shoulders with other midday shoppers. It was one of the last nice days of autumn; the weather was just right. The sun shone in a cloudless sky, and the wind played at the hems of the shoppers' capes, but not in an unfriendly or unwelcome way. Occasionally they would stop to peak into a window, and they stopped inside their favorite shops. Hermione waited impatiently as Ron stood vacantly outside of the window at Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"In your own time," she said, half-joking, her arms folded across her chest as she stood on the pavement five feet away. Ron laughed and walking quickly to catch up to her.

"Sorry," he said. "I was just trying to figure out what to get you for your birthday," he said, joining her one the pavement and following the flow of people towards the brick wall outside the Leaky Cauldron.

He had walked a few steps before he realized that Hermione was not by his side. Turning around, confused, he saw that she was standing rooted to the spot, right where she had been before. He rushed to her side and stared down the alley on their left. A woman, tall and dirty with long, lanky blonde hair, appeared out of the shadows, wand in hand. She was so dirty and the alley was so dark he could barely make her out. Ron reached for his wand in his pocket and aimed a spell at the woman, but it hit the rubbish bin the she was crouching behind and ricocheted off, blasting a few bricks out of the wall in the alley.

"Hermione, get to the Ministry," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, his blood pounding in his ears. His first priority right now was to get Hermione safe. The woman peaked out from behind the bin and shot a spell, but Ron ducked, sending one back. The woman deflected it. Now everyone on the pavement knew what was happening; a fearful hush had taken over the crowd.

"No," Hermione said, her voice small but determined. "No, I'm staying with you."

It happened just as Ron turned his head a quarter of an inch to tell her not to stay, to go and leave him to deal with this woman. A spell shot out from the alley, right under Ron's arm and hit Hermione in the chest. His shout and her scream mingled in the air as she crumpled in front of him, his arms out to catch her as she fell.

She fell heavily into his arms and he quickly lowered her onto the ground and put two fingers on the right side of her neck, checking for a pulse.

It was there, beating strong. But the impact of the spell had knocked her unconscious.

Ron stood up and wheeled around, facing the woman in the alley now who had a smirk on her face that ran from filthy cheek to filthy cheek. She quickly turned on her heel and raced back down the alley and into Knockturn Alley.

Throwing caution to the wind, Ron charged after her. Not knowing or caring what waited for him down that alley, just knowing that the woman he was now pursuing had just attacked the woman he loved more than anything in the world.

An animal-like anger filled his body, and allowed him to move faster than he'd ever done before, it wasn't long before the woman was back in his field of vision.

"_Stupefy!_" Ron yelled and the spell hit the woman dead center in the small of her back.

She flew forward another two feet before coming to a total stop face down in the middle of the alley. Ron skidded to a halt next to her and forcefully rolled her onto her side.

He didn't recognize the woman from any of the wanted photos that covered the many cubicles in the Auror Office. But before he could do much more something large struck him in the back of the head and slammed him into the wall of the nearest building.

He didn't lose consciousness right away and was aware of someone yelling and bright flashes in the background.

Then everything went dark.


End file.
